Billionaire Jeffrey Vinik’s Cheap Stock Picks Include Barrick Gold

Vinik also liked Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES), with about 550,000 shares in his portfolio at the end of September from zero three months earlier. The oil and gas company- which does have a global exploration and production unit, though it may be better known for its gas stations- carries low multiples as do many other large oil and gas companies. Billionaire Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group was buying Hess last quarter (research more stocks Citadel likes). Interestingly, unlike many of its peers Hess reported higher revenue in the third quarter than in the same period in 2011. It might be a better pick than the more widely followed majors.

Another South Korean telecom company, SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (NYSE:SKM), was yet another new pick in Vinik’s portfolio as he reported owning 2.8 million shares. The stock trades at trailing and forward P/E multiples of 13 and 8, respectively. In this case, the expected improvement in earnings would be a reversal of recent trends as SK Telecom’s net income came in 54% lower last quarter than in Q3 2011. Orbis Investment Management, run by William Gray, was also buying shares and closed September with close to 11 million shares in its portfolio (see more stocks Orbis likes). It might be worth looking at SK, KT, and other Korean stocks to see if these cheap prices do in fact make sense.